Every day there is something new to learn. I can’t say that I had ever heard of the slowcore genre before but the characteristics of bands playing in this style apparently include minor key melancholy and downbeat tempos. How then would the various artists on this cassette compilation “Glasgow Slowcore” compare to these musical standards?
Since Glasgow is getting to be a very depressing place, the bands on this compilation should have a head start. And so it was. That’s not to say that all that is here will make you pick up the phone and dial the Samaritans but it would nonetheless be true to say that none of these songs would be a good fit for the soundtrack to a day at the beach.
So, with a beer in my hand and a Stepford smile on my face, on to the music
- “Intone” by Spinney - Fully loaded like a Big Mac only with melancholy sauce.
- “Ghost” by Chris McCrory - Exquisitely downbeat to the point of becoming hypnotic.
- “Somehow I Find” by Wild Cabin - Like a lo-fi rock song but has enough trippy overtones to make it fly.
- “Keep You” by Sulka - Both light and reflective with those heart powered lyrics verging on the poetic.
- “Too Much” by Dayydream – Wondrously wistful female vocals on a journey into introspection.
- “Swordfights” by Quitter – kind of lost in the space between words and shadows.
- “Reach For You” by Loup Havenith – 99.9% naturally occurring minor chord melancholy with added fiddle.
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- “Words” by Kilgour – A cover of a slowcore classic. Indeed it is.
- “Summerschool” by Eagleowl – Relentlessly downbeat with harmonies that make you wish it wasn’t.
That was a lot of melancholy to take in one sitting. It was a lot of melancholy to fit on to one black as the darkest shadow cassette yet fit it did and anything with Chris McCrory on it will always be a winner for me even if Dayydream nearly toppled him from the top spot.
The cassette is available from Bandcamp.